


I'm sleeping all these demons away

by BansheeLydia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Asexual Erica, Asexual Kira, Asexuality, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 10:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4560738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BansheeLydia/pseuds/BansheeLydia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>written for the teen wolf femslash bingo. </p>
<p>'She didn’t know why it was so surprising that Erica had bad dreams, just like the rest of them.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm sleeping all these demons away

**Author's Note:**

> kirasmalydia.tumblr.com/tagged/teen wolf femslash bingo

Kira first found out that Erica had nightmares when the werewolf accidentally fell asleep in the loft during a pack meeting.

All eyes had turned on her at the first soft, distressed sound. Her face was scrunched up in a frown, hands curling, and after a moment, Kira and Derek stood, ushering everyone out to give Erica privacy. When Kira was the last one at the door, she glanced back at Erica, biting her lip before meeting Derek’s gaze. He gave her a nod before she stepped out of the loft. 

The last thing she saw was Derek gently waking Erica before the door shut and she was staring at metal.

 

She didn’t know why it was so surprising that Erica had bad dreams, just like the rest of them.

Her first encounter with the werewolf hadn’t exactly gone well. She’d stumbled into her after tripping down a step and Erica had given her a little snarl, warned her to watch her feet next time. Erica was cool and strong and she gave the impression that she didn’t care (Kira secretly disagreed; she thought that Erica maybe cared too much, but she’d learned not to show it). Erica could be a bitch. She could be mean.

She was also quiet. She could be popular and yet she just hung out with Boyd and Isaac, mostly. She had these moments of being softer, nicer. 

When she’d found out that Kira was struggling to maintain a C in Biology, Erica had wordlessly found Kira at lunch, sat down next to her at the table with her Biology textbook, and joined her in studying. She’d corrected Kira’s notes, offered her own to help explain different things, and while they didn’t talk much, it was actually pretty comfortable. Kira scored a B on her next test and before she could help it, she’d turned and shown the paper to Erica, grinning. She’d expected the werewolf to raise an eyebrow, to turn away, to not care.

She’d smiled back, this warm, genuine kind of grin, and Kira saw for the first time the Erica from before Kira ever knew her, the quiet, shy, sweet girl that Lydia had described. 

Erica had taken the Bite and she was steel and vengeance, but to Kira, she was also like a sea breeze, calm and refreshing. She reminded Kira of the color blue and candles and Fall leaves. 

So, Erica wasn’t emotionless. She wasn’t cold hearted. And yet Kira couldn’t get her mind off that distressed sound, kept playing it over and over like a broken record. It surprised her that Erica had nightmares. It surprised her more that Derek had seemed almost resigned to it, like this was a routine for him; like it wasn’t the first time it had happened. 

Lydia had told Kira about Erica’s past. Kira could understand, to an extent. She knew what it was like to be an outcast, to be lost in the crowds, to walk past groups of friends and feel like a ghost, just blending into the background, forgotten. She knew what it was like to be ignored most of the time, but remembered for her embarrassing moments. But what had happened to Erica was abhorrent. To be mocked and laughed at for something beyond her control, an illness...Kira felt sick when Lydia told her, tone quiet, and she saw it in Lydia’s face: guilt, because maybe she hadn’t participated in that bullying, maybe she hadn’t watched or shared the video...but she’d done nothing to stop it. She’d never once said a word to Erica before she was turned. 

Kira learned about Erica being paralyzed by the kanima, about being trapped and tortured in a basement, about being held for months, unable to shift, by a pack of Alphas; they’d torn her and Boyd up and let them go, traumatized and near dead, for Derek to find. They were just pawns; a message for Derek and nothing more.

So Erica had more than enough material to fuel a lifetime of nightmares. And yet...there was something scary about seeing someone so strong be so vulnerable, knowing that they’d never want anyone to see them that way. 

 

Eventually, her mind was occupied by other things; a failing grade in Economics, the weather turning cold, the omega werewolf running rabid around town.

Somewhere between studying together and fighting together, as the snow drifted outside, she and Erica drifted closer, until there was hand holding under the table and lingering looks and, occasionally, the soft brush of lips when they felt confident enough to try. 

It wasn’t until they shared a bed for the first time – just sleeping in the literal sense, hands clasped but a big gap between their bodies as rain poured outside Kira’s window – that Kira remembered, and only because she was startled awake by a knee jamming into her ribs. 

“ _Ow_ ,” she moaned, rubbing the aching spot, but a second later she realized Erica was still asleep, tossing and turning. Her hand curled into a fist and Kira reached out, taking it gently as Erica made a soft whimpering sound.

Kira gently uncurled one finger at a time, kissing the pad of each digit until Erica relaxed, face smoothing out. She didn’t wake and Kira didn’t disturb her, but she slept lightly for the rest of the night, pinkie finger locked with Erica’s. 

 

Kira never slept over at Erica’s. Kira thought that maybe Erica didn’t want her to meet her mom and stepdad; Erica herself was never at home anymore. Aside from school, she was either at Derek’s, or at Kira’s. Kira didn’t mind; she liked spending her nights with Erica, even on school nights when they studied and then turned in early, pinkie fingers hooked and knees brushing as they slept.

Erica had nightmares often. At least once a week, these horrible nightmares that have her thrashing in the bed, whining, and Kira always did her best to try and comfort her. Sometimes, Erica woke up, and she never wanted to talk about it, but she let Kira hold her close and kiss her forehead and soothe her. More often than not, Erica didn’t wake, but her nightmare eventually tapered off and she slept for the rest of the night, but Kira always noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

Those days, she would wordlessly link one finger with Erica’s in the corridors at school as they walked, and she’d spend lunch studying with her, keeping their focus on Economic statistics and not on what haunts the werewolf. It always seemed to help, because gradually, Erica’s warm eyes would light up when she smiled and she’d settle a hand on Kira’s hip, and they’d fall into that easy, comfortable companionship, sharing soft kisses and sweet smiles and little silly jokes (Erica was full of _terrible_ cat jokes, but Kira more than got her revenge with her puns).

 

By the time they’d been together for two years, Erica stayed over pretty much every night. At the eight month point, Erica had, awkward and stilted, explained that sex wasn’t something she’d ever been interested in, and Kira had pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, smiled and told her she knew exactly what Erica was talking about because Kira’d had sex before, but it had never appealed to her on the level it seemed to appeal to Lydia or any of her other friends.

Somewhere after the six month mark, they’d drifted closer in bed, until Erica was wrapped around Kira, face tucked against her throat, and Kira let her feet nestle between Erica’s to warm them up, laughing when the werewolf jumped because Kira’s feet were always ice cold, but she never moved and always let Kira use her as a radiator.

The nightmares weren’t as frequent. Neither of them mentioned it, but where before Kira had been counting at least two nightmares a week, she had only seen Erica have two nightmares in the past month. They didn’t speak about it, but when Erica woke in the mornings, well rested having slept through the night, she had this soft, happy little smile on her face that Kira loved. 

Kira spent those days on the couch with her, watching movies with their dog stretched across their laps. She’d always slide a hand over, linking their pinkie fingers, and though Erica always kept her gaze on the TV, Kira never missed the smile that touched her lips.

**Author's Note:**

> kirasmalydia.tumblr.com - come say hello? :)


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